Instagram Rolls Out New Security and Booking Features

The past week has been full of milestones for Instagram. The company announced that it now has over 1 million active advertisers on the platform. That’s double the amount of advertisers the app had in September of last year. Alongside this report, Instagram has introduced several new features that will improve the app experience for advertisers and users alike.

1. Direct Booking

The photo-sharing social network will soon integrate a booking feature. This tool will allow users to make a booking or appointment directly on a business’ Instagram profile. So if you see an amazing Instagram photo of the latest trendy food, you’ll be able to make a reservation right on the restaurant’s Instagram profile. With direct booking, users get a more streamlined in-app experience while businesses are better able to track the impact of their Instagram presence. The social network will also be adding additional insights data for businesses, specifically for multi-image posts and Instagram Stories.

2. Blurred Content Filters

Instagram is also increasing its censorship of sensitive content. Instagram continuously monitors and removes content that violates its community guidelines. However, oftentimes Instagram users report content that is allowed under the app’s regulations. As a solution to this issue, the platform will now add a blurred screen with a “Sensitive Content” warning to such “controversial” content. To remove the blurred content filter and view the image or video, users can simply tap an acknowledgement of the “Sensitive Content” warning.

This move comes in the wake of controversy for competitor YouTube, who recently lost several major advertisers over the company’s failure to regulate offensive content on the platform. Perhaps the introduction of Instagram’s content filter signals the platform’s efforts to avoid a similar situation.

3. Two-Factor Authentication

Lastly, Instagram has opened up two-factor authentication to boost the account security of all of its users. To set up this tool for your account, click the gear icon on your Instagram profile page and enable the option to “Require Security Code” under “Two-Factor Authentication.”

With 400 million daily active users and counting, Instagram is doing pretty well for itself. This growth will undoubtedly spark more updates in the future. Stay tuned!